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Friday, September 25, 2015

Book Review of Your Daily Brain by Marbles: The Brain Store and Garth Sundem

I
generally think of my brain as a blobby organ that causes me to spout random
nonsense on a regular basis, and chugs steadily along on doses of caffeine, but according
to the authors of Your Daily Brain, there’s more to it than that. During the course of twenty-four hours, your brain
will be called upon to prioritize, decide, categorize, and evaluate—sometimes
all at once. That’s a lot of stress for a couple of pounds of gray cells. Your Daily Brain attempts to explain the
why and where of the decision making process and how best to maximize your
brain’s potential.

The
book is organized into sections according to ten or fifteen minute periods
throughout the typical day. Each time period has snippets on what a brain may
be doing, and advice on how to help it function better. It starts with waking up at 6:00 am (don’t
use the snooze alarm) and ends at 9:00 pm (forgive yourself for a good night’s
sleep). Want to jump-start your brain power at 7:15 in the morning? Leave the
Sugar Frosted Flakes in the pantry and eat a breakfast with a low glycemic
index like steel cut oatmeal. Shopping for groceries in the afternoon? Favor
your amygdala over the prefrontal cortex. The amygdala wants the Snickers, the
cortex screams you’re a lard butt and makes you put it back. The book deals
with such far-flung topics as how best to use your brain to search the internet
to why you should fine an exercise routine (the chemicals secreted are the same
ones oozed out when you’re in love.) My favorite was the 6:15 pm, love in the evening, section. Apparently, the following three
questions are all you need to determine a mate’s compatibility. Do you like
horror movies? Have you ever traveled around the country alone? Wouldn’t it be
fun to chuck it all and live on a sailboat?

I'd recommend this book for anyone who likes odd facts and interesting science tidbits. All
the articles are short and easy to read for the non-sciency type. Since they
are keyed to a particular time, you can finish this book in a day in short
bursts, or skip from one article to another. The latter is actually a better
idea. According to Your Daily Brain,
creativity comes from shaking things up.